TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE: Given the right to larger families, Chinese may hold off.

China’s moves to combat an ageing population by relaxing decades-old curbs on family size have hit an unexpected snag: many parents are no longer interested in having more babies.

The government has indicated it will scrap its policy which limits the number of children per family through tough fines — and sometimes through forced abortions and sterilisations.

The world’s most populous country introduced its one-child policy in 1979 and last tweaked it in early 2016, raising the limit to two children as the nation scrambled to rejuvenate a greying population of some 1.4 billion.

But the pent-up demand for more children has ebbed, experts say. Couples have increasingly delayed having even one child as they devote more time to other goals, such as building their careers.

Just three weeks ago on this same topic I asked, “Can the State cajole a country out of a State-induced demographic tailspin?” Maybe we have our answer.